Shaq Barrett believes he’ll be “ready to go” for Week 1

A potential Barrett return in Week 1 would be a big plus for the Bucs in 2023.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher [autotag]Shaq Barrett[/autotag] is confident that he’ll be on the field Week 1.

Barrett recently appeared on the Loose Cannons Podcast, where he discussed his path to rehabbing his Achilles injury he suffered in 2022. He mentioned that he believes he will be recovered by the time the Bucs play their first game.

Here is what he said on the podcast:

“Just wanted to sulk in it a little bit. You know, all the questions you ask when something bad happens that you don’t want to happen. Physically now though, I’m good. I’m doing the rehab. I’m getting better. I’ve been jogging on the treadmill. Doing everything pretty much according to plan and on schedule. It might be a little slower right now because we’ve got a lot of time, so not trying to force anything. But I’m ready to go. I’m gonna be ready to go when it’s time to go. I’m pretty sure ‘time to go’ will be the first game. I don’t anticipate missing any games. I don’t anticipate being on any play counts. So, I should be ready to go for the first game for sure.”

Barrett’s presence for the first game of the season would be quite the boon for Tampa Bay, as edge rusher is a position where the team has sought depth. The team may also look to replace him in the draft eventually, too, so this could be his chance to prove his injury won’t hinder him as he comes back from rehab.

As it stands, Barrett is one of the Bucs’ highest-paid players. He has a potential out in his contract for 2024.

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